When it's comes to skiing, there are many options. Some of us are lucky enough to live somewhere on the West Coast, near big ski resorts. They can drive to the nearest resort, even for a day of skiing. Unfortunately, we are not one of them, and if we want to have great days on the slops with deep powder, and a challenging terrain, we have to fly. Of course, we can drive north of NYC to the Catskills, Adirondack, or Vermont. We go there as often as possible, but skiing on the East Coast is nothing compared to the West Coast, or the European Alps.

I've skied at many resorts in the Rocky Mountains, and a few in the Alps. It's hard to say what's better, because they are different. Last year we went to Zermatt in Switzerland for our winter vacation.

We had a wonderful time there, so we decided to go skiing, and hiking in Europe again. This year, France was the winner! I already skied in Chamonix, so we decided to go to Les 3 Vallees. This is the biggest ski resort on the planet!

Les 3 Vallees is a huge resort. It's twelve times bigger than Vail, and forty three times bigger than Killington, VT. It has 600 kilometers of trails, a few different kinds of lifts, 170 in total, 25 accessible peaks, and 6 glaciers....One week is definitely not enough to ski it all, but unfortunately we can only spare a week this season.

There are eight ski towns linked together by an endless lift system. We chose Meribel as our base. You can't go wrong with any of these towns. Some of them are bigger, and some of them are smaller. Some of them are on a higher elevation, and some on a lower, some of them are more expensive than the others, and some of them are closer to the mountains. Of course, the cheapest ones are farther from the mountains. So, which one you choose is totally up to you. Why we've chosen Meribel?

Meribel suits our preferences best. It lies in the center valley, so you have much faster access to all of four valleys. High enough (1500 meters), that you can ski right to the village, because the ground is usually covered with snow. Meribel is not a big town, but big enough to have few nice restaurants, bars, and shops. Val Thorens for example, is on an elevation of 2300 meters, which is above the tree line. It has an awesome ski terrain, but when it's windy it's pretty windy, and most of the ski lifts may be closed. Les Menuires has many high hotels, and doesn't have a ski town vibe. Courchevel is super expensive. It has two six star hotels, while all of France has only eight of them. You can find more super expensive stores there, than nice, cool bars with a great beer selection.

To Les 3 Vallees people usually go for a week, from Saturday to Saturday. Most of the small chalets could only be rented for that period. Only big hotels may have rooms available for a shorter stay. Anyway, the area is so vast, that even in a week you wouldn't be able to ski it all.

I skied there for six days, six long days! I always was there from open to close (9am-5pm). The first day, I didn't even know where to start. So, I asked the owners of our chalet for advice. They gave me some good one. Three rules I remember the most. First, this is the biggest resort in the world, so don't even try to ski all of it in one day. Second, follow the sun, from east to west, so that snow quality and light will always be with you. Third, don't leave your home without a map. You will get lost! Once you are in a different valley, and after the lifts are closed, you're in trouble! They might close the lifts during the day too, if the weather isn't good. It happened to me once. I was skiing in Courchevel and tried to go back to Meribel. They closed all the lifts because of strong wind at the top.

In a week I had two and a half sunny days and the rest were cloudy, foggy, and snowy. They said, I was lucky. It could have been much worse. It could snow for a week or even longer. The amount of snow we got in those four days was incredible. I don't remember when I was skiing in that deep powder. I even began to wonder that it was too much snow. Is that even possible?

Powder was everywhere, even on the groomed trails. It was like a paradise. My legs didn't like that, but I told them, that they need to be strong, and they have to enjoy that. They can rest in New York.

I really skied a lot in that week. I have been almost everywhere! I found a forth valley, used more than half of their lifts, and skied hundreds of miles, more than 100,000 vertical feet. I wish I could have stayed an extra week, and explore even more. I highly recommend this ski resort to anyone who skis well, and is brave to go off piste, and explore this vast terrain. Before you do that, make sure you check the avalanche level every morning, which is posted at every base. If it's more than three don't go off piste, it's too dangerous. If you are not a good skier, learn more at your local ski resort then go there. You will have many more possibilities and freedom of skiing. More than 90% of that terrain is off piste, not groomed. Beginners and inter-medium skiers will not have much fun there. Of course you can hire a guide there to teach, and show you around. That kind of skiing is expensive there.

There are so many options for food and drinks in the mountains, as well as, in the villages. Unfortunately, for some of them you should make a reservation. Otherwise, you may wait a long time for a table. In good sunny weather a lot of skiers (including us) have their own lunch in a backpack, and do a picnic style lunch, wherever, and whenever they feel like it.

In Meribel you can find quite a good number of nice places to eat. We can recommend a few.For crepes and Raclette go to La Galette.

For a classic french cuisine try La Flambee, a reservation is recommended.

For the apres ski go to Meribar or Jack's bar, and for late night beers and cocktails try Barometer, or Scott's Bar.If you want to dance in your ski boots on the table in the middle of the mountain you must go to La Folie Douce - the best party on the slopes.

These places are in Meribel only. We know, that other villages may have their favorite spots, but one week is definitely not enough to explore more than one village.

I know that being in Les 3 Vallees, and not to ski is almost impossible. But if for some reason you don't ski and wonder if there will be some activities for you - the answer is definitely yes! There are plenty of trails and you can walk a few minutes or a few hours. In Meribel there is also the big complex where you can ice skate, swim, go to the SPA, or the gym. Everybody can find something interesting. And with the Pedestrian card (for 70 EUR per week) you can use as many lifts as you want. So, there is no other option than just have fun!